Two Vacaville schools benefit from peer tutors

Since the early 1990s, American educators have recognized the importance of instilling in students an ethic of service and an appreciation for giving back to the community.

At Vacaville Christian Middle School, tutoring is one way for some of its 200 sixth- through eighth-graders to satisfy a 20-hour annual requirement of service, said Principal Maylene Ripley.

A program called Tutors in Training (TNT) began three years ago at the Davis Street nondenominational parochial school after math department director Donna-Marie MacWay asked students who excelled in math to become peer tutors.

Seeing the program thrive, Ripley and MacWay this year asked Sylvia Rodriguez, principal at Padan Elementary, a public school within walking distance, if she would consider allowing TNT students to tutor Padan students every week, on Thursdays. The answer was a resounding yes, and for three months it has been a boon to Padan students who want the extra help, especially needed for some just before exam time, and a benefit for VCMS students as well.

At VCMS, students are required to log at least 20 hours of service per year, but, said Ripley, "Many students far exceed this requirement."

Feedback from VCMS parents and the students about the schools' collaboration has been positive, she noted.

"They appreciate the idea that their children are involved in their community and in their churches," Ripley said.

In addition to tutoring, VCMS students serve at homeless shelters, food banks, Sunday schools and by offering free childcare to military families.

She noted that colleges are "looking for people" with a variety of backgrounds but especially look favorably on those who perform community service.

"They want a well-rounded individual," said Ripley.

Rodriguez, in a joint interview with Ripley at Padan, said her students, many of them deemed low-income and English-learners, "learn so much" through the tutoring program.

She said it contributes to "global awareness" as the students and tutors "embrace diversity."

"There's a benefit for the giver and the receiver," said Ripley, adding that VCMS students repeatedly report that serving makes them feel better about themselves, that they enjoy seeing the difference their service can make.

"They reach out and learn from one another," she said.

Rodriguez said schools "need community," and tutoring is one way to achieve it.

On another Thursday, Eric Styles, 13, and a seventh-grader at VCMS, helped Padan fourth-grader Aidan Cruz, 9, plot a graph to connect dots and make a image.